Broncos media services manager Rebecca Villanueva displays a jersey with quarterback Peyton Manning’s name and number in March 2012.

Sometimes, it’s tough for us people in the trees to see how no one in the mighty NFL forest is more popular than Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning.

The NFL just released its top 25-selling jerseys in the period from April 1-Nov. 30, and Manning was No. 1. Frankly I’m a tad surprised because his jersey has been in circulation for two years. But as the RGIII star drastically dimmed and with little sex appeal in this year’s rookie class (Geno Smith, anyone?), the trusted Manning remains on top.

Maybe that explains why the Broncos are playing their freakin’ sixth prime-time night game Thursday against the San Diego Chargers.

A grading curve is needed this week as so many quarterbacks quarterbacks played through snow, cold and blizzards. But there were also enormous stats as it was also the highest scoring week in NFL history with a combined 852 points – 53.25 points per game. We know one quarterback who played well in frigid conditions and he solidified his top ranking.
The QB rankings entering week 14:

Quarterback ……………….. (Last week’s ranking)

1. Peyton Manning, Broncos (1t)
On his way to 5,000+ yards, 50+ TDs and 5th MVP.

2. Tom Brady, Patriots (1t)Played awful for so long Sunday in falling behind 19-3 at home to lowly Cleveland. Wound up with 418 yards and incredibly lucky 27-26 win.

The New Orleans Saints’ Drew Brees is a fantasy football player’s dream quarterback. (AP photo)

Amazing, isn’t it? All these young guns. Andrew Luck. RG III. Colin Kaepernick. Cam Newton. None of them anywhere close to playing with Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. Russell Wilson is maybe in the neighborhood, although let’s see what happens when the Seahawks ask him to start throwing for 300 yards a game.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers scrambles past Atlanta Falcons linebacker Curtis Lofton on a 7-yard touchdown run during the second half of a playoff football game Jan. 15, 2011, in Atlanta. (Dave Martin, The Associated Press)

I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t keep a quarterback coming off a three-interception, four-turnover game at the No. 1 spot. Call me harsh, Broncos fans. But what’s the point of having weekly rankings if you can’t make changes each week? Have you seen Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees throw lately? They are the fairest in the land. And then there were dual-threat QBs, Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick, making their moves. The QB rankings entering Week 9:

2. Drew Brees, Saints (4)Threw 5 TDs with 0 interceptions against Buffalo while completing 26 of 34 for 322 yards. Now tied with Tom Brady for fourth all-time with 343 touchdowns. Brady is 35 with 9 TD passes this year. Brees is 33 with 19 TD passes in one less game.

3. Peyton Manning, Broncos (1t)Reached the halfway point still leading the NFL in touchdown passes (29), yards (2,919) and passer rating (119.1). But after throwing 16 TDs with 0 picks in first four games, has 13 TDs, 6 picks in last four.

Yeah, Peyton Manning and the Broncos’ offense was off last week. Their 35 points were only the second-highest to St. Louis’ 38. Major moves up the board were made by former Bronco Jay Cutler, Nick Foles, Cam Newton and Ben Roethlisberger. The tumblers were Andrew Luck, Geno Smith and Terrelle Pryor:

Quarterback ……………….. (Last week’s ranking)
1. Peyton Manning, Broncos (1)Even if he didn’t have his best game against Jags, it would be harsh to knock him down a peg, especially when Brees lost and Rodgers didn’t play his best, either. And I couldn’t put Tony Romo No. 1. Manning has set TD pass record through each game this season but his streak may be about to end. His 22 TD passes through six games broke Tom Brady’s 2007 record of 21. But Brady had 6 TD passes in game 7 of 2007

Tuesday Morning QuarterbackIt’s tough to rate Tom Brady. We know what he’s done. Which is more than any other active quarterback. But you weigh that against what he’s doing now. Which isn’t much. The top two quarterbacks stay the same this week with no one playing at Peyton Manning’s level. But there are massive changes after Drew Brees at No. 2:Quarterback ……………….. (Last week’s ranking)

1. Peyton Manning, Broncos (1)

No coach, no commentator, no player has ever mastered the game of football like this guy is now. His pace through four games last week of 64 touchdown passes seemed silly – except he’s still on pace for 64 TDs through five games.

Quarterbacks are paid to win games. But last weekend, three notable QBs – Matt Schaub, Joe Flacco and Jay Cutler – lost games by throwing the ball to the wrong team. There were four quarterbacks who didn’t start the previous week. And for all the buzz about the talented, young, athletic crop of quarterbacks, look whose 1-2-3:

Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger have a diminished supporting cast and look below average. The supposedly super sophomores are slumping. Five quarterbacks – Jay Cutler, Matt Schaub, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers and EJ Manuel – came through in the final seconds/minutes. There are but two quarterbacks, though, clearly playing above the rest. They rank 1-2 in week 2 of the Tuesday Morning Quarterback rankings:Quarterback ……………………… (Last week’s ranking)
1. Peyton Manning, Broncos (1)None of those athletic young guns have this guy’s discipline, his ability to control the game, his accuracy.

Former Broncos wide receiver Ashley Lelie, a first-round pick (19th overall) in the 2002 draft, has started a coaching career at the University of Nevada whose “pistol” offense sent quarterback Colin Kaepernick into the NFL. The school announced the hiring Tuesday.

Lelie will be a quality control coach, an entry-level position. Lelie was a teammate of current Nevada offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich at the University of Hawaii.

New Orleans — Terrell Suggs was easily the most outspokenly happy among Ravens in the cramped victorious locker room.

The Ravens’ pass-rushing linebacker reflected on his team’s unlikely postseason run in which the Baltimore Ravens got the better of some fairly noteworthy quarterbacks while defeating the Indianapolis Colts at home, then the Broncos and New England Patriots on the road, before defeating the San Francisco 49ers at the nuetral site of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

“We beat the future in Andrew Luck,” Suggs said. “We beat the past in Peyton Manning. And we beat the present in Tom Brady.”

Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway gets off a pass as a San Francisco 49ers player grabs him from behind.

It’s widely believed a team can no longer win a Super Bowl without an elite quarterback. Perhaps another qualifier should be added to this theory: Older, elite quarterbacks aren’t winning Super Bowls, either.

I got to thinking after watching Baltimore’s Joe Flacco outplay Peyton Manning, 36, and Tom Brady, 35, in back-to-back playoff weeks. Since the Broncos’ John Elway won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1997-98 at 37 and 38 years old, the NFL has been been a fairly young QBs game.

The oldest QB to win a Super Bowl since Elway was Tampa Bay’s Brad Johnson, who was 34 in the 2002 season. Johnson is also considered the last mediocre quarterback to win a Super Bowl.

The Broncos will soon join the parade of NFL teams who have been signing their draft picks.

There really is no mystery with the contracts the seven drafted Broncos will receive. With the NFL salary cap set at the same $120.375 million figure in 2011, the draft salary pool for each team in 2012 is virtually the same as 2011. The difference is a $15,000 increase in the minimum rookie salary from $375,000 to $390,000.

So give or take $15,000, a player can figure out the contract he will receive by looking at the player taken in his draft slot for last year.

New York — With quarterbacks Ryan Mallett, Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick not taken in the first round, there’s a chance the Broncos may be able to trade back from their No. 36 overall pick in exchange for an extra pick in the third or fourth rounds.

The Broncos also have the No. 46 overall pick in the second round and No. 67 in the third.

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.